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As Trump runs, Dutchess has another connection to a presidential race

Trump, who owns Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, in Stormville, has had a Hopewell Junction man at his side for much of the campaign to win the Republican nomination for president. Dan Scavino is a Trump senior adviser.

For the past seven months, Donald Trump has canvassed the nation, holding rallies and making appearances, as he constructs a presidential campaign.

While the campaign hasn't touched down in Dutchess County, it is another example of the mid-Hudson Valley's connection to presidential politics.

Trump, who owns Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, in Stormville, has had a Hopewell Junction man at his side for much of the campaign to win the Republican nomination for president. Dan Scavino is a Trump senior adviser. Trump has built relationships over the years with other locals. And, Trump family members also own property locally.

“We are traveling all over the country, and every single minute, hour and day is completely different,” said Scavino, whose Twitter feed was filled with issues facing the Wappingers Central School District not long ago. These days, it’s packed with videos from campaign events and photos posed in a different city nearly every day, as he manages the Trump social media message.

Trump's connection to Dutchess is only the latest example of a local link to presidential politics. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lives in the Hudson Valley and her daughter, Chelsea, was married in Rhinebeck. But perhaps the deepest example came from the 1930s and 40s, when Hyde Park native son Franklin D. Roosevelt won four terms as president. In fact, in 1944, Dutchess had two residents running for the White House — Roosevelt for the Democrats and Thomas Dewey on the GOP line.

With the countdown to the 2016 election underway, Dutchess County once again finds itself brushing with the presidency, as it is linked to one of the most visible, and polarizing, candidates.

According to USA Today's Presidential Poll Tracker, which averages several national polls, Trump commands 34.5 percent of the Republican vote, leading the field. He's made headlines, garnering support and detractors for his controversial stances on immigration and foreign diplomacy, and for his criticisms of President Obama, since launching his campaign in June.

Trump came to the mid-Hudson Valley six years ago. On Dec. 23, 2009, the business mogul and former reality television host purchased Branton Woods Golf Course in Stormville and renamed it Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley. It was Scavino, Trump said, who convinced him to inspect the property.

Scavino met Trump when he was a caddie and bag room attendant at Briarcliff Manor Club, which Trump later purchased and renamed Trump National Golf Club, Westchester. Scavino rose through the ranks to become the executive vice president and general manager at the golf club. After a brief time working outside of the Trump organization, Scavino returned to work on this latest venture.

“I told (Trump), if he runs for president, that I am all in,” Scavino said.

He now works closely with the key members of the campaign, including Trump himself, to deliver information to the public. Last week, Scavino posted a photo from inside Trump’s jet on his way to Pensacola, Florida. On Thursday, he was in North Charleston, South Carolina, tweeting along with the GOP debate. On Friday, he periscoped live video from events in Iowa.

As of yet, the “Trump Train” doesn’t have any plans to make a stop in Dutchess County. But, that could always change, Scavino said.

“Should we have one in Dutchess County, there is no question that it would be huge — like all of our other rallies across the country,” he said.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the South Carolina Tea Party Convention on Saturday at the Springmaid Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.(Photo: AP)

It certainly wouldn’t be a new experience for the region.

President Roosevelt, who made his home in Hyde Park, often held campaign events in the area during his run as president. Republican presidential candidate Dewey, who ran against Roosevelt in 1944, lived in the Town of Pawling. It is the only time two presidential nominees from the same county faced off in the general election.

In August 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy — elected president a few months later — delivered a speech marking the 25th anniversary of Social Security at the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park.

Trump isn’t the only presidential candidate with a connection to Dutchess County, either. Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, got married to Marc Mezvinsky in July 2010 at Astor Courts estate along the Hudson River in Rhinebeck.

President Clinton also visited the Roosevelt estate in 1993 and, in 1995, Clinton held a summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin at the Roosevelt estate.

Over the years, Trump has developed relationships with many in Dutchess County, including county Sheriff Butch Anderson, who said Trump invited him and friends to lunch when he was sworn in as sheriff at River Station in Poughkeepsie. Anderson said he's known Trump for about 10 years.

Donald Trump and Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson pose for a photo after Anderson is sworn in as sheriff.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

“I may not agree with everything, but I back him 100 percent,” Anderson said. “He’s a good man, and I think he wants to do the right thing for the people, and I think he’ll do it.”

Donald Trump speaks with his managers during a June, 13, 2010 visit to Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, in Stormville. Dan Scavino is on the left, and Andy Lavine is on the right.(Photo: Journal file)

According to a Jan. 10 Marist poll, Trump leads the Republican field in New Hampshire, the first state with a primary, receiving support from 30 percent of likely Republican primary voters. Among likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, ever, he trails Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 28 percent to 24 percent.

Scavino said since Trump started campaigning, there hasn’t been much time to visit the golf club in Stormville. Trump didn’t visit in 2015, but has regularly visited during golf season since he acquired the club in 2009, he said.

As for the campaign trail, Scavino said there’s no typical day.

“My favorite aspect is making a difference,” Scavino said, “and having the opportunity to work for a great man — and without question, the best campaign team that is out there.”

Dutchess County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Elisa Sumner said the committee has begun the petitioning process for the presidential election, and is dealing with Hillary Clinton petitions. Among Democrats in the county, Sumner said Hillary Clinton may be “slightly more popular” than her leading competition — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont.

“It’s really a mixed bag,” she said. “I think the Democrats will happily get behind whomever is their candidate.”

In the past, county residents have voted Republican. In fact, Roosevelt, a Democrat, frequently made Dutchess a site for pre-election appearances, but often didn't win at the polls in Dutchess County, or Hyde Park.

Donald Trump selects a golf club during a June, 13, 2010 visit to Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, in Stormville.(Photo: Journal file)

However, current voter representation is a mix. According to the county Board of Elections, there are 55,969 Democrats, 49,912 Republicans, 3,566 Conservatives, 9,986 Independence Party voters and 45,897 with no party affiliation as of Jan. 4. Other party affiliations total less than 1,500 collectively.

"(Trump) does not offer details on how he will get things done, he is apt to start a war and his plan to build a wall across the Mexican border and to deport millions of Mexicans is ludicrous," Boyajian said. "And I find his attitude towards women offensive."

Town of Poughkeepsie resident Ernest Suter said Trump may be arrogant, but he's not worried about being politically correct.

"We tried electing life-long politicians and look where that has gotten us," he said in a Facebook comment. "Time to vote for someone that [sic] isn't a politician."